GhentJobteam Gent – Finding a permanent job
What is inspiring?
The main aim of Jobteam Gent is to help people in Ghent facing discrimination to find a permanent job. What makes the project unique is its comprehensive approach and the expertise of its team. First, the project provides long-term support, specialised training and continual supervision. Second, this is all carried out by an inter-organisational team, made up of individuals from 10 municipal and civil society organisations, each one of them with their own field of expertise (e.g. youth work, substance abuse, social services, education, reception).
Contact
E-Mail: jobteam@stad.gent
How does it operate?
One of the unique strengths of Jobteam Gent is that they offer more long-term and tailored support than that provided by most recruitment agencies. As part of their strategy, Jobteam Gent has adopted an outreach and low-threshold approach. This means it moves away from the traditional way of working where job seekers are required to visit an office. Instead, the staff members of Jobteam Gent step into the living environment of the job seekers, visiting social services, youth centres, specific neighbourhoods, individuals’ homes, work locations and so on. This allows the staff to reach and support the most vulnerable people. Jobteam Gent also works on an individual basis. The coaching program is not fixed in advance, but is determined by the job seeker and their job coach. In this way, Jobteam Gent can guarantee an accessible, intensive and sustained service for the job seeker concerned. In their search for a suitable job, Jobteam Gent addresses other aspects of life too, such as housing needs, drug problems, financial problems, or psychological problems. The focus is thus not only on work, but on well-being of the job seekers in general.
What is the outcome?
Within the timeframe of the project, Jobteam Gent aims to reach 1,500 people and have 920 participants in an intensive coaching program towards employment. By the end of the first year, they had already established contact with 798 people, of which 532 had begun an intensive coaching programme.
Who initiated the project? How?
The 2-year project started at the beginning of 2020. The project is sponsored by the city of Ghent and the European Social Fund (ESF). According to ESF, “the project scores maximum on expertise and experience because of a very strong partnership, strong local infrastructure, and a very experienced team with diverse expertise”. The team is composed of 35 staff members from ten different partner institutions, including the city of Ghent and several civil society organisations.
What is new in 2023?
By January 2022, the Job Team had already reached 1,217 Ghent residents in a precarious situation. A vocational or educational orientation programme was started with 728 of them. As the project has produced impressive results, it has been extended until 2023.